CC Minutes - 03/08/06 Workshop - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ms. Bettman suggested that where the consultants had identified City Hall and other related functions, it should footnote that it included the Police Auditor’s Office. She believed that it was an administrative function that would have to communicate with other City administrative functions. Mayor Piercy questioned whether the presence of police in City Hall added to the perception of public safety. Ms. Bettman believed that it did. Ms. Ortiz found the presence of police cars in her neighborhood a cause for alarm. Mr. Papé said he liked having a police presence in the area. Ms. Teninty indicated she would note different positions on the part of councilors. Ms. Bettman found the rankings for the considerations to be relatively subjective in the light of supportive analysis. For example, with regard to the cost of land, the City owned land downtown and did not own land outside downtown, but that was ranked as negative. She found it misleading information. She acknowl- edged, in response to a question from Ms. Teninty, that the considerations were generally those the council had in mind but she believed the rankings were discretionary. Mr. Papé asked how other communities of similar size to Eugene, such as Boulder, Colorado, and Salem, Oregon, operated their police functions, and suggested that research be done in that regard. Mr. Cohen said that when the consultants shared the considerations with the public, it would not include the rankings and would solicit feedback on the issue. He did not anticipate universal agreement on the rankings. Ms. Teninty asked the council what further information it needed before the April meeting. Mayor Piercy anticipated that the council would weigh the considerations against one another to reach a decision. She said that some considerations may be a higher priority for some councilors. Ms. Teninty suggested that might be a discussion that required a separate meeting. Mr. Pryor suggested the public forums would provide the council with some direction regarding the community’s values as they related to the considerations. He wanted a summary of that information prior to the council’s April meeting. Speaking to Ms. Bettman’s concerns, Ms. Wilson said that the consultant team debated about whether to rank the considerations and decided to include them to stimulate a conversation about the values that existed. He concurred they were subjective. Mr. Wilson agreed some revision might be needed, but the construction cost related to a location downtown was objectively greater, particularly if structured parking was required. That drove the ranking before the council. He said the consultant team could attach a number to that consideration if desired by the council. The council took a brief break. 3. Site Evaluation Criteria Mr. Wilson provided a brief overview of the preliminary site selection screening process, anticipating the outcome would be the identification of five or six sites for further examination. MINUTES—Eugene City Council March 8, 2006 Page 6 Work Shop